Comments Off on Piggy Piggy: ‘American Horror Story’ goes for the gut; Newest episode of FX’s new show has meat on its bones

MELISSA KRENEK
Entertainment Editor

After the emotional reference to the Columbine tragedy of 1999, “American Horror Story” gave us what we wanted: the shooting.

The last episode showed us the bloodied teen ghosts, who pointed fingers at the unsuspecting Tate, but nothing came of it.
This recent episode, which premiered Nov. 10, starts with a flashback from 1994.

Again it closely resembles the real-life Columbine shootings, complete with a horrifying library scene.
All five ghost students are present and alive, and taken down one by one by the shooter.

We don’t see Tate’s face until his last victim.

The scene changes to Tate in his room surrounded by a SWAT team, not looking very remorseful.

The camera cuts to Violet surfing the web and discovering the Westfield High shooting, with her supposed boyfriend as the shooter.
She runs into Constance who tells her that Tate doesn’t know he is dead, and needs her help to cross over.

We are introduced to a shady medium in this scene, hauntingly similar to the smug real-life medium that was seen on a “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” episode in the past.

Ben and Vivien’s storyline takes a turn for the worst in this episode.

Ben is officially out of the house, which allows Vivien to get closer to the security guard, played by the hunky Morris Chesnut.
This is hinted to us by Vivien putting her engagement ring on the dresser next to her handy security button.

Out of fear or curiosity, she decides to press it, and Chestnut’s character appears.

They bond over their spouses’ carnal desires, a foreshadowing that is guiltily showed in the preview for the next episode.

The rest of her time is spent dealing with her demon baby, which supposedly has hooves, according to the nurse who saw it on the ultrasound.

This title, “Piggy Piggy,” comes from Ben’s new patient, who has a fear of urban legends, specifically the “piggy man.”

To get over his fear, Ben suggests he look in a mirror and say “Here piggy piggy piggy” until he calms down.
Of course he invites the man to say it in his haunted bathroom where a murder occurred, but that’s okay.

The man does it, and in fear pulls back the shower curtain to reveal the dead fat nurse from a past episode.
If you recall, that fat nurse was called piggy by the murderer before he drowned her in the tub.

His storyline is ironic, since when he finally gets the courage to do the exercise in his own home, he is met by a robber hiding in his shower.
The man thinks he is calling him a pig, and shoots him in the head.

As the episode progresses, we learn that Violet is at her breaking point.
She meets with her past enemy, and they bond over their slow descent into madness.

We already know that Violet cuts herself, but when she asks for pills from the girl we know that she is going to do something drastic.
So when she downs the whole bottle after seeing all the ghosts in her basement and seeing Tate’s eerie “I love you” written on her wall, we aren’t surprised.

We also aren’t surprised that Tate saves her, a touching but cliché scene filled with running water and tears.

The last couple of minutes show the true question of the show: Is man naturally evil?
Or do things like greed, lust, and power drive him?

“American Horror Story” asks these questions, through the lens of a haunted house.

It plays off of the characters’ desires and fears, just as society does to all of us.

This is why the last couple minutes, though cheesy at first, hold a bigger meaning to the overall point of the show.
When Constance speaks to the medium about Tate, the story flashes back to the day that Tate is brought down.

He is back in his room, with a SWAT team around him. He reaches for a gun, and is shot multiple times. An officer runs up to him, asking why he did it.
He dies before he can answer.

This leaves us wondering if he walks among the living with no knowledge of his own demise because he didn’t answer the officer’s question, or because he actually blacked out during the time, and something much more sinister had power over him?
The episode ends with a touching scene between Tate and Violet.

He professes his love for her, and she seems to forgive him, even though he is still a mass murderer.

They end up cuddling on her bed, admitting being tired, her from being depressed, him from wandering around without sleep for 17 years.

To view Krenek’s review of the series episode by episode, select the tag “American Horror Story,” or type it into our search.